The Marks of a Soulmate
by keiththepaladin
Summary: Lance has always noticed the soulmate mark on his arm. His soulmate's final words. "I love you, Lance" A series of short scenes about Lance coming to terms with his mark, and then finally realising what it meant.


When Lance was 10, the words appeared on his arm.

Though, it hadn't been a surprise. He had been expecting them. His soulmate mark. And seeing it broke his heart.

The words appeared in a messy, black text, scrawled across his forearm, more like a bored kid's doodle in class than a soulmate mark.

Everyone knew about the soulmate marks.

Some were terrifying things, such as 'Look out!' or 'I can't see!'. They were the ones that you knew were going to have a tragic ending. And then there were the more confusing ones, such as 'What a cute cat,' or 'Hey, this looks fun!'. They were the marks you laughed about when you saw, but deep-down, knew were not going to end in a funny way.

And then there were the ones that made you tear-up looking at them. The ones you knew were going to hurt more than anything else. The ones that were going to rip your heart to shreds.

Ones like Lance's.

For the words that appeared on your body, in your soulmate's handwriting, were their own dying words.

And the words that appeared on Lance were: _"I love you, Lance."_

At age 12, Lance asked his grandmother about soulmate marks.

They were sat on her front porch, looking out at the ocean and up to the stars. Their Friday-night tradition. She had made them both a hot cocoa, with two marshmallows, just the way they liked it. Every time Lance took a slip, he felt the warmth go straight to his chest. His favourite part of the week.

But every time Lance looked down at his cup, he could see the edge of his mark peeking through his sweater. And he couldn't help but thing about it. Think about what terrible things that were to come.

"What's plaguing your mind, my boy?" His grandmother's words startled him. She had a gift of knowing whenever Lance was troubled, no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

"Just thinking." He was trying to be vague.

"About?"

"Life?"

"What in particular?"

"Soulmates." She had cracked him. Like she always did.

"They're a wonderful thing, Lance. So why do you look so sad?" He could feel her gaze on him, but he just looked down into his mug.

"Were you worried about grandpa's words?" He remembered seeing the words on his grandmother's calf for the first time. 'It's okay'.

She seemed to hesitate before answering, picking her words carefully. She truly didn't want to scare him. "No, it was something I accepted."

"How did you know he was the one?" Lance finally looked up at her, eyes stinging. He didn't realise how anxious the idea of a soulmate made him till now.

"You feel it in your heart. Like an electric buzz." Lance tugged his blanket further around his shoulders as his grandmother offered him a warm smile. "You'll know, Lance. When you kiss, you'll know."

When Lance was 15, he entered the Garrison.

And he loved it. His competitive nature could run free, and he felt as though learning how to pilot a ship gave him a purpose. It was perfect. Except for Keith Kogane.

Lance was almost the best. Almost number one. _Almost_ good enough. But Keith just had to be better, in every aspect. And Lance hated him for it.

"The guy doesn't even look like he tries, Hunk!" Lance was sprawled out on the top bunk of their shared bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"Maybe he's just good, Lance."

"Why can't I be good?" Lance sighed. "Why does that asshole Kogane get to be good, but I don't?"

"You are good."

"Not enough."

"Lance—"

"I hate him, Hunk. And it makes me hate myself too. End of conversation. Good night." Lance turned onto his side, and closed his eyes. He didn't want to be reasonable about Keith Kogane.

At 16, Lance became part of Voltron.

It was a terribly, terribly daunting thing. The fate of the universe was in his hands and he didn't know what to do with it. What if he messed up? What if the end of the world turned out to be Lance's fault?

Lance looked out one of the windows on the castle. He could see endless stars, and that put him at peace. Some things would remain normal. Like the fact that he could still see the stars from his bedroom window, or the fact that he had his family.

His second family, anyway. Over the year it had begun to feel like they were all more like family then teammates or friends.

When Pidge needed anyone to help her find her brother, or to remind her to sleep when she was up till all hours of the night, the rest of them were there for her.

And when Hunk felt homesick, the rest of the team would joke around till he laughed again. And he'd make food for them all, like a family.

Whenever Shiro started to crack under the pressure of leading Voltron, they'd all try and manage themselves, to give Shiro a break. And Shiro would always be around to give them some very dadly-advice when they needed it.

When Allura was feeling down, the Paladins would all bunch together to make her feel better, showing her some Earth customs, to distract her for a while. And they always knew that she'd be there for each and every one of them every step of the way.

And even in the moments where Keith showed his vulnerable side, the team would stand by him, and remind him of his worth, and why they wanted him around. And Keith would always be there to fiercely protect them.

They were Lance's new family. And though they hadn't known each other for all that long, Lance knew that they were the people he was destined to be with.

At 17, Lance told Keith he liked him.

It hadn't been nearly as smooth at Lance would have liked it to be, even though he had rehearsed it countless times in his head.

It was on a silent night in the castle, and Lance didn't even think anyone else was awake. He had been walking around, not being able to catch any sleep.

And what Lance found in his favourite spot was not solitude, but Keith. He was sitting by one of the large castle windows, knees pulled to his chest and his head resting on top.

"Keith?" Lance sounded more surprised than he meant to. Of course it was Keith. Who else could rock a mullet?

"Lance? Why are you awake?" Keith turned his head to face Lance, one eyebrow raised quizzically.

 _Because I couldn't sleep._

 _Because I was thinking of you._

"Because sleeping is boring." Lance plopped himself down next to Keith, and gave him a brilliant smile.

"Bullshit. What's on your mind?"

Lance was all for taking advantage of the moment. It was a sign. Now was the perfect time to tell Keith.

If only his mouth would cooperate with his brain.

"Well, you see—" Keith's violet eyes were staring directly into Lance's blue ones.

"I've wanted to tell you this for a while—" Lance could feel his heart thumping in his chest.

"But I've never known how—" The air felt like it was getting thinner, breathing harder.

"And now seems like better time than any—"

"I know you like me."

Oh.

 _Oh._

"I'm sorry if I put you in an awkward position, Keith. It's just…I can't control how I feel and—"

Whatever Lance had to say next was cut off by Keith's mouth on Lance's. Keith's slightly chapped lips rubbed against Lance's own, and he wished he could live in this moment. The closer Lance shuffled to Keith, the stronger he could smell sandalwood. And he could feel the electric buzz in his heart.

As soon as Keith pulled back, Lance missed the warmth and pressure of having Keith right there.

"You weren't gonna shut up if I didn't do that." Keith had a smirk across his face, but Lance couldn't look away from his eyes. They were sparkling as though they contained entire galaxies. "Castle to Lance? Did I shock you?"

"Best shock of my life."

When Lance was 18, he finally understood what the words on his arm meant.

And break his heart they did.

"Keith, you dumb mullet head! Why'd you do that?" Lance could feel the hot tears welling up in his eyes. Keith was lying across his lap.

"Couldn't let anything happen to you." Keith's words were strained. Lance took another look down at Keith's stomach, where a gaping bullet-wound was standing out on the white paladin armour. He instantly wished he didn't look. His stomach started to do flips, and he couldn't remember the last time he had felt this nauseous.

He had to be strong. For Keith.

"You're so stupid." Lance looked back down at Keith again. The galaxies in his eyes were dimming. "Hold on, the castle will be here soon. I'm sure of it."

One of Keith's hands reached up and rubbed a tear away from Lance's face. "Please don't cry, Lance. It's okay."

How could this be okay? How could Lance ever accept that Keith could die because he took a bullet for Lance?

"Just keep talking to me Keith."

"It's been a really great year."

"Not like you're saying goodbye!" Lance's tears spilt over, and he could see them falling onto Keith's face.

Keith made a disagreeing moan. "It's been a great year for me too, mullet."

"I love you, Lance."

The words.

The words Lance never wanted to hear.

Lance had to fight the scream that was aching to come out. He could feel the ache in his chest, in his heart. It felt as though it was being ripped apart.

"I love you too, Keith."

But Keith didn't hear it. For the galaxies had left his eyes.


End file.
